The Scarlet Angels
by Undeadmonkey8
Summary: A beta tester with a bad reputation. That's who I was. A player with friends who rely on me. That's who I am. This game, this life, it isn't what I expected when I logged in to Sword Art Online. But it's what I got. And you know what? I think that deep down, it's exactly what I really wanted. Hiatus.
1. Prologue

**I do not own Sword Art Online**

**Original post date: 8/13/14**

**Edited: 8/14/14**

**Scarlet Angels**

**Prologue**

**June 24th, 2024. Floor 63 Labyrinth: Ancient Keep.**

A chill wind moaned through the ancient keep, numbing any exposed skin as the torches lining the walls flickered, desperately trying desperately to remain lit. I peered out over the edge of the ledge my guild was perched on, counting about half a dozen skeletons in ancient flanged armor, so old it had almost rusted completely away. Regardless of the state of the armor, their swords were sharp, their shields looked thick, and most importantly, they blocked our path further into the floor 63 labyrinth, arrayed as they were in a loose knot on the floor of the dining hall twenty feet below us. If they had been closer together, I would have just gone with a detonation crystal, but the blast radius wouldn't get more than two or three of them, and the element of surprise would be lost. I glanced over my team, seeing six familiar looks of determination, and I nodded, "Alright, let's get it on then. Standard attack plan against an enemy with equal numbers and unknown strength. Get ready to jump."

The Scarlet Angels arranged themselves, clad in red and gold. Rathion, equipped with Mithril Plate Mail, the Demonic Aegis - a tower shield almost as tall as he was - and a flanged flail took the point of an arrowhead formation. I stood to his right and slightly behind him, a duster flapping slightly in the wind, a gleaming red khopesh reversed in my right hand, a golden and clawed gauntlet on my left hand. To my right stood Evangelion, clad in light wyrmscale armor with a pair of black punching daggers equipped, and several slight bulges in her clothing where various weapons were kept. On Rathion's left stood Aragoth, black hair tugged by the wind along with his own trenchcoat, and a massive silver bladed scythe was slung casually over his shoulder as he waited for my signal. On his left stood Silica, with a set of armor to match Evangelion, a ebony dagger in hand and her healing dragon Pina perched on her shoulder.

Directly behind Rathion stood our friendly archer Taylaria. She held a huge 80 pound silver longbow, almost as tall as she was. An black arrow was set to the string, and her form-fitting rhino leather armor was slightly covered by the cloak she wore over one shoulder. next to her stood the key member of our party. Silmaryl, our healer, alchemist, and demolitions expert was decked out in Drakon mail armor, a thorned whip in one hand and a dull red crystal in the other. I shot him a look, "Silmaryl, put the bomb away. We shouldn't need it unless the enemy gets reinforcements."

The boy's golden eyes flicked over to me before he sighed and stashed the crystal in a pocket, "If more arrive, _then_ do I get to blow shit up?"

"Yes." I said simply, then turned my attention to the edge of our floor area, then said one more word, "Allons-y." We charged and jumped off of the ledge without a further sound, each member leaping quietly into open space, aiming for a skeleton to fall onto. Everyone triggered a skill of some sort, and my sword turned bright white as I chose my **«Pentagram Blade»** skill, hoping to finish my fight quickly to help the others.

Then we landed.

Rathion and I hit our targets directly, he simply crushed his and used the spike on his shield to finish it off, while I crashed into mine with a barrage of five quick strikes. The skeleton groaned and one of its arms fell off, but it didn't die, and suddenly I was fighting for my own life instead of helping my comrades. I growled, leaning back to avoid the skeleton's sword skill, then placing the palm of my left hand onto the pommel of my khopesh, crouching and setting most of my weight onto my right leg. My sword glowed again, a deep, dark red this time, and the world turned black for me and my target. A red arc cut through the darkness, and a moment later I was standing on the other side of the skeleton, sword arm outstretched as my finishing move of choice, **«Coup de Grace»** ended. My target burst into blue polygons, and I stood, looking for anyone who needed help. Taylaria was crouching up on the ledge, bow ready as she looked for a skeleton that needed to be distracted. Silica and Aragoth were dueling a pair of skeletons along the western edge of the room, and Aragoth's scythe glowed brightly for a moment before he whipped it around in a fast series of slashes, neatly dismembering his opponent before removing the head of the one fighting Silica. To my right, Evangelion was using her daggers to sever the thin ligaments and bits of muscle holding her skeleton together like a surgeon, and Silmaryl had wrapped his whip around a skeleton and was proceeding to fling the monster between a wall and the floor. As I looked around, cry of warning from Rathion gave me just enough time to duck.

A sword cut the air above my head, almost trimming a few of the red hairs sticking out of my cranium. I twisted and swung my khopesh wildly, driving the skeletal knight back enough to give me some breathing room. An arrow hissed by my ear and ran into my opponent's skull, knocking its helmet clear of its head just in time for a second arrow to pierce it through the eye. The skeleton looked blankly at us for a moment, reached up with its free hand and yanked the arrow from its eye socket before tossing it to the side.

I risked a glance over my shoulder, "Damn it, Taylaria! You know piercing weapons don't work well against undead! Especially skeletons! Hit it with a **«Net Shot»** and pin it down! Don't waste piercing arrows when a sword works better!"

The orange haired girl threw me an angry glare, though before she could say anything she was cut off by the arrival of more skeletons. For a moment, we were fighting for our lives again, but then our pyromaniac alchemist pulled something out of his jacket, "Duck and cover!"

Taking his advice, I dove to the side. Silmaryl launched a small red crystal into the air, and our group made valiant attempts to reach cover before the crystal hit the ground. A massive explosion swept the room, and I almost choked as dust filled the air. I stood up from where I'd been laying on the ground behind an overturned table, coughing hard before grabbing and sheathing my weapon, "Report!"

"Reporting sir!" Taylaria's voice came back from above me, she'd likely just rolled back from the edge when Silmaryl pulled his bomb out.

"Still alive!" Our tank stepped out of the dust cloud, wiping ineffectually at his armor.

A softer voice made me jump as it sounded at my shoulder, "I'm here." A boy with golden eyes and hair to match gave me a wink, "And you're as handsome as ever chief."

I rolled my eyes at the other boy, "Cut the flirting until we've got everyone, Silmaryl. And put your whip away until you get a new bed buddy." My voice rose, "Eva? Aragoth? Silica? You here?"

My view was smothered in blue and sparkles as a tiny dragon flew circles around my head, and her master trotted out of an alcove, "Pina and I are fine, Krathys!"

A black haired boy seemed to materialize next to her, "Reporting for duty bossman." Aragoth slung an arm around Silica and set his scythe on his back, letting Pina flutter gently over to rest in his hair.

I nodded, "Six, so we're just missing-"

"Miss me?"

A pair of arms slid around my waist, and I set a hand on the two linked on my stomach, "Of course, Eva. Every moment when I can't see you is a moment where I die a little."

Evangelion laughed and placed a kiss on my cheek, then pulled away from me, "Such a gentleman to be sarcastic with the ladies."

I smiled, "Who said you were a lady?" Her eyes narrowed, and one of her punching daggers was at my throat before I raised my hands, "Okay, okay. I take it back. You're the picture of an elegant noblewoman."

"Boss, I know you like flirting with your wife, but if you could spare a moment?" Aragoth's voice was taut with worry, and I heard weapons being drawn.

I sighed and looked around, my eyes settling on a group of a dozen players dressed in dark robes, with masks covering the upper half of their faces as they appeared from the corridor leading out into the 63rd floor. An assortment of weaponry was displayed, and I sighed again, "What do you all want? Mapping data?"

The leader of the group smiled under his mask and held his arm slightly to the side, showing off his sword. A dark insignia was visible on his forearm, and my eyes narrowed as I recognised it, "Laughing Coffin. I thought you lot stayed away from the front lines to target weaker players."

The leader shook his head, "It's easy to get us up to the front lines. You pissed someone off, Crimson. And they want you dead. Any last words?"

My guild was looking at me steadily, waiting for orders. I shrugged and slid my khopesh back out of its scabbard, holding it reversed in my right hand. The crimson blade caught the light as I held it up, "Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."


	2. The Death Game

**I do not own Sword Art Online**

**Original Posting Date: 8/12/14**

**Edited: 8/13/14**

**The Scarlet Angels**

**Chapter I  
**

**-NOVEMBER 6TH, 2022-  
**

"Link Start!"

A tunnel of colors rushed past, dragging me deep into the world of Sword Art Online. The world turned black, and then a screen appeared in front of me with a short list.

CHARACTER DESIGN

NAME: _

GENDER: M / F

HAIR COLOR: _

EYE COLOR: _

I filled out the lower lines with the information, but paused to think of a name, since I didn't want to use my old one from the beta. Tapping my chin with a finger, I looked pointlessly around, trying to think of something, "Kraken, Zeus, Minerva - no, that's a girl. Wrong game. Eh . . ." I closed my eyes and ran through the alphabet, then set a finger on the transparent keyboard that hovered above the screen. A slight beep told me that I'd found a button, and I opened my eyes to see what it was. A bold K stood proudly on the line, and I closed my eyes, "K . . . K . . . O-K, K-mart, Kite, Kate, Krypton, ooh, K-r it is. Kraken again, K-r-a . . . Kra . . . Kra . . ." I opened my eyes, "Krathys sounds pretty good."

When the name was entered, and the screen spun and shrank, vanishing and leaving me alone in the dark. A white sentence appeared in the void above me;

WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE

A long sigh escaped me, "Yeah yeah, I dealt with all of this during the beta. Hurry up, will ya? I don't have all day before my parents get home."

My body glowed, and I could feel the avatar I'd set up take its place. When the glow faded, I was suddenly an inch taller, my hair was a dirty blond that reached to my shoulders instead of the normal scruffy red, and if I had a mirror I would have been able to see startling green eyes. There was a sword on my hip, but I didn't wear a shield. Instead, I would be picking up the martial arts skill as soon as I could. It usually caught enemy mobs - and players - off guard if they were focusing on my sword and suddenly I punched them in the nose.

The sentence above me expanded until all I could see was white, and then suddenly I was standing in a small pavilion, with blue polygons drifting away from me as my body finished materializing. Before the next player could appear, I was already off of the platform, making my way through the crowds towards the edge of town. There was an easy quest there for a pretty decent pair of gloves, and I wanted to grab it before someone else could. Questing in SAO was pretty simple. The first person to receive and complete the quest received the unique item and the normal rewards. Everyone after them received the normal rewards, such as Col and maybe crafting material depending on the quest, but not the unique item. Thus why it was called 'unique.' It was possible to buy the item on later floors, but they were often expensive and it was difficult to find a vendor who sold them. Of course, once the player found a better piece of gear and sold the old one, it was up for grabs. I hurried through the crowds, anxious to reach my destination and get going before anyone else got the quest. It would be a shame to get the quest only to find that the item was already gone.

Apparently I was a little too obvious about making my way through town, because suddenly a hand was on my shoulder, holding me back. I turned, caught off guard, and the boy who'd caught my arm smiled sheepishly, "Uh, I got a little lost, and you seem to know where you're going. Do you mind if I tag along for a bit?"

I hesitated. The kid (assuming it was, in fact, a kid) looked very lost, nervously sweeping the area as if he would spot a sign that would point him to the market. He was a little over half my height, with the top of his head reaching about my stomach. His hair was a bright blue, a surprising contrast to his black eyes, and his avatar looked maybe fourteen or fifteen. I let out a long sigh, "This your first MMORPG kid?"

He jumped slightly, I'd spoken when he'd been turned almost completely away from me. The boy grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"Because you look like a total rookie," I grinned slightly at his crestfallen expression, "and your avatar looks like a pretty young boy. Real world, I'm guessing you're . . . twelve, thirteen tops? First online game and you're looking for a lifeline to help keep yourself afloat. So, to help settle your nerves, you went with an avatar that was pretty close size and shape wise to your normal body, but made you seem older than you really are." I gestured to the heavy armor and shield he had equipped, "And judging by your choice of starting gear, you're wanting to focus on defense and health, meaning that you're trying to protect yourself over attacking things. Am I right so far?"

The boy blinked again, and nodded slowly, "Yeah, you got it all right. So . . . will you help me?"

I hesitated, then smiled again and shook my head, "Agh, I've got a soft spot for kids. Sure, I'll show ya the ropes." I shook my fist at the sky, "Curse you Kayna!"

The boy looked blankly at me, "Kay who?"

I blinked and shook my head, "My sister in the real world. She's given me that soft spot for kids that I mentioned a second ago." I turned and headed back towards the warehouse on the edge of town, "You coming?" I heard the patter of his feet, and glanced back, "What's your name?"

"In real life or here?"

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I said, "here. If someone in SAO asks for your real name, stab them. They're probably trying to stalk you."

The boy was probably nodded, judging by the way he paused before stating, "My name here is Rathion." He pronounced it Wrath - ee - on.

I looked back again, "Nice to meet you Rathion. I'm Krathys. And to quote one of my favorite video games, it's K-R-A-T-H-Y-S. Got it memorized?"

"Uh-huh. So where are we going?"

My menu was already up as I searched for the town map, "A warehouse on the edge of town. I want to grab a quest there before hitting the fields." I stopped suddenly, and then stumbled as Rathion ran into me. Turning back to look at him, I frowned, "By the way, where's your weapon?"

Rathion turned a bright red, "I . . . uh, I might have traded it to pay for the shield."

I stared blankly at him, "You're joking, right? You sold your weapon for a shield?" The boy nodded and I sighed, "God, you're such a rookie." I shook my head, "Whatever. I guess I'll get you a sword before we hit the fields, and you can pay me back with the col we get from the quest."

Rathion turned an even brighter shade of red, and I realized that I hadn't invited him to a party yet. I did so with only a bit of hesitation, and he eagerly hit the accept button. Turning away from him, I started walking again, "Try to keep up, will you? I don't want someone else getting the quest before us."

It was only a short walk to the warehouse, and virtual dust flew as I opened the door. Though the warehouse had only been created when the game was released, Kayaba Akihiko had done a marvelous job with it's age. For all it looked, it could have been abandoned for years. Not many people would think to look for a quest here. However, that didn't stop me. I strode quickly over to one of the walls lined with crates, and set the tip of my sword against the edge of one. I slid the blade into the crack between the lid and the rest of the crate, and levered the weapon so that the lid slid off of the crate with a loud crack. An NPC jumped up from the crate, waving his hands wildly, "I wasn't here to steal anything, I swear! I only wanted to get a spot to stay the night out of the rain and cold! I wasn't hurting anyone!" He peered closer at me, "Wait . . . you're not the authorities. Will you help me? I'll make it worth your while!"

A screen popped up, asking if I wanted to accept the quest. I hit yes, and the NPC continued, "Oh thank you so much! I really need some food and blankets. If you can bring me ten slabs of wild boar meat and five wolf hides, then I'll give you some of the things I've . . . found, in the warehouse. Thank you so much! I'll be here until you get back!"

He grabbed the crate lid and pulled it back into place, a blue glow signaling that the crate had repaired the damage. I turned away from the box, and caught Rathion staring, "What?"

Rathion pointed to the crate, "You . . . you knew exactly which crate he was in. It isn't like it's a special one, it looks the same as all the rest. And you knew exactly where this quest was too. Are you . . ." he took a breath, "Are you one of the beta testers?"

I waved a hand slightly, "Guilty as charged. So, how about we get on that quest? You wanted to learn the ropes, right?"

Rathion nodded eagerly, and trotted on my heels as I left the warehouse and made for the edge of town. The rolling plains of Aincrad took my breath away every time I saw them, and this time was no exception. I drew in a deep breath, enjoying the 'taste' of air that wasn't tainted by pollution and development. Even if it wasn't real, it was sort of nice to know that this place would never be tainted by the greed of humanity. No bulldozers or planes would ever touch this place, it would be forever pure of humanity's sickening touch. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Rathion tugged at my elbow, "Are we going to go work on the quest Krathys?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I was just enjoying the view. Just because it's virtual doesn't mean that I can't like it more than the real world."

The road seemed to melt away before us, and I only stopped when I heard the telltale noise of a mob spawning. I turned and led the way into the tall grass, searching for the boar or wolf that had probably just appeared. We weren't in a forest, so bug type monsters weren't very likely, leaving only the prairie animals as options. My search was quickly rewarded by a hunched blue back moving through the grass, and I set a hand on Rathion's shoulder, drawing my sword and handing it to him, "Alright kiddo, let's see what you can do. Focus on the sword, and try to activate a skill. When you feel its ready, unleash it, and the system will do the rest. We'll get you a sword of your own when we get back to town. If it looks like you're gonna lose, I'll step in and take it down for you."

Rathion nervously held the sword in one hand and lifted his shield with the other. It took him a moment, but the sword eventually began to glow blue, and he leapt forward with a yell. The boar squealed in pain as the sword cut into its shoulder and reared back, slashing at him with its tusks. Unfortunately, Rathion's thrust had left him open. He cried out in pain as the blow landed, cutting a shallow gash from his left shoulder to his right hip, but stopped when he realized the pain wasn't really there. My sword glowed again - green this time - and Rathion lunged forward, stabbing through the boar and making burst into small blue polygons. I stepped forward as the prize screen appeared in front of Rathion, awarding him with a small amount of experience and Col, as well as a slab of wild boar meat marked with a star. My hand settled on his shoulder as he bent over, hands on his knees as he sucked in air, and I smiled, "Nice job. You picked that up pretty quickly."

Rathion gasped for air and nodded gratefully, "I read up on the sword skills before I logged in. I didn't want to show up and not know anything like a total rookie."

"And yet you sold your sword for a shield and armor." I muttered, low enough to avoid him hearing me. I straightened up and hit the accept button for the mob rewards, and Rathion's belt pouch clinked as the new items were deposited in it. The boy straightened as well, and I rolled my shoulders, "Well, we've got nine more boars and five wolves to kill, we should get started. First though, we're gonna go back to town and get you a sword. We really should have done that before coming out here."

Rathion nodded and offered my sword to me, and I took it back, sliding it into the scabbard on my waist. It was only a short walk back to town, and from there to the market, so we took our time, leisurely perusing the available weapons so Rathion could get a good one. Eventually he found one that suited him, so he pointed to it and I bought it for him, then traded it over to him. I'd just have him pay me back in the funds that we would get from the quest.

His own sword now strapped across his back, Rathion proudly led the way back out into the prairie, with me strolling along behind him. Once we reached the prairie however, I took the lead, "You got the last monster kid, the next one's mine."

Rathion eagerly nodded, maybe excited to see if I would get beat up, maybe excited to see how I fought. Either way, he was excited about something. I just wasn't certain what it was.

A wolf spawned in the road in front of us, and we stopped. The beast snarled at us, slowly advancing as I stepped forward, drawing my blade. I crouched slightly, my left hand a foot or two behind my head with my left arm slightly bent, my right arm fairly straight with my fingers loosely wrapped around the hilt of my sword as I waited for the wolf to make a move. It didn't take long, claws flashing as it jumped at me with a loud snarl. I growled right back and activated a sword skill, stepping to the left and slashing my sword. For a moment, it looked like I had missed, but then a bright red streak appeared, marking the trail of my sword from just below the wolf's jaw all the way down to the base of its tail. There was a slight whimper, and then the wolf burst into polygons, leaving behind a screen giving me Col, experience, and a Prairie Wolf's Pelt.

Rathion ran up, jumping up and down, "Wow! Krathys that was so cool! The way you jumped out of the way and then cut the wolf in half like that without getting hit! Can you show me how to do that? Please? Please? Pretty pleeeeaase?"

I sighed and covered his mouth with a hand, muffling his voice, "That kid, is what happens when you're a beta tester. You learn stuff like how to step to the side. It's pretty easy actually, let me show you." I took my hand off of his mouth and stepped smoothly to the left, "Now you try."

Instead of turning red at the jibe, Rathion took it seriously, slowly stepping off to one side as if it were an in-game skill. I sighed, "There's no skill activation for that Rathion, that is literally stepping to one side before you get hit. You don't need to treat it like it's anything special."

That did make him realize I was teasing him, and he turned red, "Oh. O-okay."

I felt a little sorry, but it was just so easy to tease him like that. I turned away from him, back to the grass waving in the wind, "Okay, nine more piggies, and a few more kittens. Let's go get 'em."

()()()()

Several hours later, the sun was just starting to set, and Rathion and I were enjoying the fruits of our labors. A pair of sleek black leather gloves now covered my hands, and Rathion was enjoying the feeling of having some more money. Being nearly level two was a bonus as well. I led the way out of the warehouse and up to the roof of the building, staring off into the setting sun, "So, what do you think of the game?"

Rathion was still jumping up and down slightly, punching at the air as if he were in a boxing match, "I like it a lot! It's so fun to do all the skills, and the fighting, and all the monsters! I can't wait to get back on tomorrow!" He looked over at me, "uh, will you be here tomorrow?"

I gave him a long-suffering look, then relented when he shifted to puppy eyes, "God, you're too old for that to work so effectively. Yes, yes, I'll be on here tomorrow." I opened the menu and sent him a friend request, "Here, I'll even go on your friend list so you'll know exactly where I am, and when I logged in. Happy?"

Rathion jumped even faster, almost missing the accept button. A small screen appeared under my health bar informing me that 'Rathion has been added to your friends list.'

The roof was cool against my palms as I leaned back and sighed. Rathion swiped at his menu to log out, and a puzzled frown spread across his face, "Uh . . . Krathys? How do I log out?"

I frowned slightly and stood up, moving behind him to look over his shoulder, "It should be . . ." I trailed off as I saw the empty bar where the logout button should have been, "That . . . that's weird. Glitch in the game maybe?"

Rathion glanced at me, "Is there any other way to log out? Emergency exit maybe?"

I shook my head, "No . . . no there's nothing like that. The logout button is the only way out from inside the game. Our parents could remove the NerveGear from our heads and force us to log out from the outside, but we can't do that from in here." I frowned and looked at the sky, "I wonder if there's going to be an announcement about thi-"

A sudden blow glow covered my vision, and I shut up for a moment as I felt the ground dissolve beneath my feet before resetting. The light cleared and I blinked, looking around. Rathion was next to me, and I set a hand on his shoulder as he looked around wildly, and he took a step closer to me, "What's going on?"

I looked at the sky as it blazed red, "I don't know. But I have a feeling we're about to find out. Stay close to me."

Rathion nodded and took another step closer, practically burrowing into my side. I glanced down at him, then wrapped an arm around his shoulders, helping him steady himself as he trembled. The kid's first time in a full dive was turning into a potential nightmare, the least I could do was be there for him.

More and more players arrived, being teleported in from all over the first floor if I had to guess. I spotted a guy with shoulder length black hair talking to another guy with red hair and a bandana, and my eyes narrowed, _'could that be . . . maybe. The avatar is the same, but there are ten thousand people here . . . it might not be him.'_ Rathion squeaked and pointed up at the sky, and I looked up, following his arm. Massive, thick globules of what looked like blood dripped through the cracks between the warning signs in the sky above us, gathering together to form a massive, hooded figure. My breath caught in my chest, and I whispered, almost reverently, "A Game Master."

The robed figure spread its arms, and its voice echoed across the square, cutting through the shouts of the players, "Attention players. Welcome to my world."

My eyes widened, and Rathion gasped as we reached the same conclusion. Kayaba Akihiko. Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online, was the one floating in the sky above us.

Kayaba confirmed our thoughts, "My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. As I'm sure many of you have already noticed," Kayaba swiped open his menu, "The log out button is missing from the main menu. Some of you might have assumed this is a glitch. It is not." He left that to sink in for a moment, "I repeat. This is not a defect in the system, it is a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out from here, and no one on the outside is able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear. Should they try, the Nerve Gear's battery will emit a powerful microwave, strong enough to destroy the player's brain, and end your life."

My arm tightened around Rathion as I recalled how I had just been telling him that our parents could forcibly log us out of the game. My free hand clenched, and I hissed through clenched teeth, "Kayaba you bastard. What point is there in all of this?"

Kayaba continued, "Unfortunately, despite my warnings, the friends and families of many players have already tried to remove the Nerve Gear. As a result of this, 213 players have already left both the game, and reality." Screens began popping up around Kayaba's figure, displaying news reports worldwide, "As you can see, news organizations around the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. As a result, the chances of any one else dying in this fashion have become minimal. Therefore, I hope you will all relax, and focus on clearing the game."

I let out a sharp gasp, "Clear the game? None of the beta testers even cleared the first ten levels, and that took a full month! How are we supposed to clear the game?"

Kayaba continued, "However, you should all be warned. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. Once your HP hits zero, your avatar will be lost forever, and at the same time, your Nerve Gear will emit the microwave, and end your life."

I had a vision of the boar that Rathion had fought. Of the young boy's health hitting zero, and killing him. Apparently he was having the same idea, because his trembling increased. I dropped to a knee, turning him to face me, "Rathion. Calm down. I'm not going to let that happen to you, I promise."

Rathion was shaking so hard that his armor was rattling, and he shook his head, lost in a panic attack, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

My arms tightened as I pulled him close, holding his head against my shoulder, "I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not going to die, and that means you aren't either, because I'm going to keep you safe. Alright? We'll clear this game and go home."

In the sky, Kayaba was still talking. "There is one way to escape. If you clear all 100 floors of Aincrad, and defeat the final boss on the final floor, you may escape, and leave the game." He lowered his hand, exiting his menu, "Finally, there is a gift from me in your item storage. Feel free to take a look."

I released Rathion with one arm to swipe open my menu, and maneuvered through to my items. There was a single item there, and I tapped it, "A mirror? What's going on here?"

The small hand mirror materialized, and I peered at it, "What the-"

A bright light blinded me, and I closed my eyes out of reflex. Rathion yelled out, falling away from me before my hand blindly grabbed his shoulder, holding him steady. When the light faded, I blinked a few times to clear the spots from my eyes, then looked back at Rathion, "Are you okay Ra-" I stopped midsentence, staring at the boy staring blankly back at me. My mouth opened and closed a few times, "R-Rathion?" I glanced at his HUD, "Rathion, what happened to you?"

Rathion had radically changed. Instead of the neon blue hair and black eyes he had previously possessed, his hair now looked like fine golden thread that fell nearly to his shoulders, and emerald green eyes sparkled beneath shaggy bangs. If I had to guess, I would say he was at least half a foot shorter than I was.

Rathion was expressing a look of shock similar to mine, "Krathys?" He pointed at me, "What happened to _you_?"

I looked back into my new mirror, and almost dropped it. A pair of electric blue eyes looked back at me, surprise written plainly in the twin orbs under my scruffy red hair. I looked back at Rathion. His hair had turned blonde, almost gold, and his eyes had changed from black to a bright green. The boy started shaking again, "H-has Kayaba Akihiko changed our avatars?"

Wordlessly, I held up the mirror so he could see himself, "I think that our avatars have changed to our actual bodies."

Rathion started shaking again, a new panic attack setting in. Quickly, I pulled him into a hug, "hey, hey, it's gonna be fine, just calm down and relax." I whispered, rubbing a slow circle on the back of his neck. Gradually, his breathing slowed, and he stopped shaking, and I smiled, "See? There you go, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Rathion stepped back and wiped his eyes, "How'd you know how to do that?"

I rolled back off of my knees so that my toes supported my weight, "My little sister used to have panic attacks all the time. I did the same thing to her whenever they started up."

Rathion nodded, and looked up at Kayaba, "Why do all of this though? What does he want?"

Standing, I tucked an arm around his shoulders, "I suspect he's about to tell us."

Sure enough, Kayaba began to speak again, "At this moment, I'm sure many of you are wondering 'why?' Why would Kayaba Akihiko, creator of Sword Art Online, do all of this? Well, my purpose has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for the sole purpose to create a world in which I could intervene as a god." He spread his arms, "This concludes the tutorial of Sword Art Online, good luck, players."

Kayaba dissipated into dark red smoke, and drifted back into the sky. The players looked between each other uncertainly, and I immediately began walking, gently leading Rathion to the edge of the square. Once we reached it, I turned around and crouched in front of him, "Okay, what happens next is up to you. I'm going to head for one of the other towns on this floor, since this one and the surrounding plains will be picked clean in the next week or two. You can stay here, where it's safe, or you can come with me. It's your choice."

Rathion took a deep breath, and touched the hilt of his sword where it was slung over his shoulder. He rolled the shoulder of his shield arm a couple of times, then looked me in the eye with a surprisingly steady voice for someone who had just had a pair of panic attacks, "I'm staying with you."

I nodded, "Okay then, but it will be dangerous, I have to warn you."

Rathion grinned, "Then I'll expect you to uphold your reputation as a beta tester. There shouldn't be anything on the first floor that can surprise you, is there?"

A matching grin spread across my face, "Alright kid, let's get going."

The sound of footsteps echoed in the alley, and I glanced around to see another player running through the shadows. They vanished into the darkness almost instantly, and I looked at Rathion, "The other beta testers will be leaving soon as well. We need to leave quickly, before they have a chance to beat us out of here."

Rathion nodded, and raised his fists, "Then let's go!"

**End of Chapter One**

**So what do you guys think? Do you like Krathys and Rathion so far? I hope ya do, because I like 'em, and hopefully you guys will too!  
**

**So begins the story of The Scarlet Angels! (even if this chapter has been edited since I first posted.) Please, continue to read and review!**

**Keep Writing, Keep Rocking!**

**Undeadmonkey8**


	3. Friends, New and Old

**I do not own Sword Art Online**

**Originally Posted: 8/22/14**

**Edited: 8/26/14**

**The Scarlet Angels**

**Chapter II**

**November 18th, 2022**

The town of Valior was a quaint, bustling village in the northeast corner of Aincrad's first floor. I sat across from Rathion at a cafe in the center of town, watching NPC's and a few players hurry around through the marketplace. Even if it was a living hell for some people, Kayaba had done an incredibly thorough job with it. Take the cafe for instance. You could walk in, order a coffee and snack, and in a minute or two it would be delivered. You could order custom coffees, such as mochas with caramel or peppermint flavoring, or a vanilla licorice latte. I didn't know why someone would ruin a latte with licorice, but you could do it. I had marked this particular cafe on my map because it was not only cheap, but the coffee was good and it had a nice view of the town. Rathion wasn't allowed to get coffee, he bounced around enough as it was.

No, that wasn't correct. Rathion bounced around _too much_ as it was. I had made the mistake of letting him get coffee the day after we'd reached the town, and the resulting destruction had nearly cleaned out our funds completely. As a result, Rathion was no longer allowed to have coffee. Or overly sugary food for that matter. Anything that would make him start bouncing off the walls was forbidden to the point where I had actually cut a pastry in half just before Rathion could take a bite.

Speaking of the younger boy, Rathion was being surprisingly quiet. My cup clattered slightly as I returned it to its saucer, and glanced over at him, "Say, Ra-"

Rathion's chair was empty.

It took me a grand total of two seconds to process the most likely scenario, and I cringed. Another second later, a loud whoop was heard inside the coffee shop, followed by a series of bangs and crashing noises. My chair crashed to the ground as I launched myself from it and shot inside, tackling Rathion to the ground before the NPC's in charge of the shop turned hostile, then dragged the struggling boy outside. A length of rope soon bound Rathion to his chair, and I stood over the boy like an older brother about to give a lecture, "Rathion," I began, "I'm sorry, but the first time you had caffeine here in SAO, you burned the cafe we were in half to the ground. So until you can get a handle on your energy, you do not get coffee. That, or you're paying for all resulting damages. Understand?"

Rathion struggled for another moment, then subsided, looking up at me with a criminally innocent face, "Sorry, Krathys. I just like sugary stuff, that's all. My parents didn't like me getting pastries and stuff in real life, so this is the first time I've had a chance to really enjoy food like that."

I sighed and set a hand on his head, pondering what to do. A solution came to me after a long moment of thought, and I grinned, "Alright kid. You can have your coffee and snacks. But there's a condition. No eating or drinking them inside town, you've got to wait until we've got something to fight first. We're going to put all that energy to good use."

Rathion's face lit up, and he nodded eagerly before darting back inside the cafe to load up on treats and coffee. I groaned and raised my eyes to the heavens, "Oh, what have I unleashed?"

He returned a minute later, and we sat down so I could finish my mocha. The boy bounced slightly in his chair, and his armor clanked noisily against the metal seat. I sighed and set the drink back down, then stored it with the rest of my items, "Okay, okay. If you're that excited we can go grind for Col. We'll probably need it to cover all the snacks you just got."

Rathion jumped eagerly up, ready to go, "What are we waiting for? Lead the way!" He started to march off, probably thinking I was right on his heels.

What he probably didn't expect was my hand closing around his collar and hauling him a foot into the air. He stopped struggling once he was at eye level with me, and I grinned, "Charging into fights is a great way to get yourself killed Rath. Don't forget to keep yourself in check."

The boy slumped, and his weight seemed to double as he went limp, "Fine, fine, I know." He glared at me, "Can you put me down now?"

I set him on the ground, "No problem short stuff."

"Who did you call so short that a farmer would use him as a garden gnome?!"

I chuckled and started walking, "No one, no one. I would never think of calling you short kid."

Rathion grumbled the entire way to the forest.

()()()()

Several hours passed, and my scruffy red hair was dark with dirt and had several leaves sticking out of it as we fought our way through the forest, battling any mob we found. It was a fight against the environment as much as it was against the wasps inhabiting the trees. The trees and bushes were thick and close together, limiting our vision, and I watched Rathion closely, making sure he didn't draw too much aggro from the monsters. Sure, he was supposed to be the tank, but he was still far less experienced than I was, making him a much easier target. Not to mention that I was harder to catch in order to hit.

In fairness though, being harder to hit cost me, in that I had to wear medium armors at best, rather than the heavy armor that protected Rathion. That cost my defense quite a bit, and coupled with the fact that I spent time increasing my strength stat instead of my constitution, meaning attack over health, I could only take a few hits before falling into the yellow zone.

At the moment, we were battling a pair of giant wasps. Rathion was busy blocking the attacks from the one trying to kill him, so I watched his back, deflecting stings from the second wasp - which joy for me, was even bigger than his. The two bees drew back, and we gasped for breath. A glance at my my HUD showed that I was at relatively full health, while Rathion was about halfway to yellow. We glanced at each other, grinned, and threw ourselves at the wasps. Risky move? Maybe. But it paid off as my weapon cut straight through my target, bisecting it before the wasp could react.

"Help!"

Rathion paused midstroke as the scream sounded through the clearing, and the giant wasp took advantage of his distraction to stab at his shoulder. The boy grunted and raised his shield, blocking the second blow before shoving back at the bee, knocking it through the air. I instantly darted in, cutting the wasp's stinger off before cutting it cleanly up the middle. The wasp burst into blue polygons, and I sheathed my weapon, "Well, that was fun."

Rathion was looking in the direction of the scream before his gaze turned to me, "Krathys! We've got to help them!"

I held up a hand, "Easy there Hercules. We've _got_," I put emphasis on the word, "To think things through carefully. It could easily be a trap set by the game." We'd run into such a trap on one of our quests, and it had nearly killed us both.

Another scream sounded, this one probably a girl's, with no words, and a definite note of panic ran through it. Rathion looked towards the source, then back at me, "Krathys." He whined.

The trees were suddenly very interesting, "No, no, no. You are not using those eyes on me again." Rathion was silent, and I risked a glance to make sure he hadn't wandered off.

He hadn't.

Instead, he had his sword across his back, and his hands clasped behind his shield, giving me the deadliest pair of puppy dog eyes I had ever seen. I tried to look away, I tried to ignore the look, but it was too effective, and a groan escaped me, "Fine, fine. Let's get going."

Rathion let out a joyous cry and followed me closely as I ran through the forest. Another scream sounded, this one close by, a boy's voice being cut ominously short. We burst through a pair of bushes, weapons drawn, and launched ourselves at a group of wasps cornering an unarmed girl against a tree. One of them drew back to attempt to sting her, and I found my target.

My blade flickered out, cutting through the wasp as I moved on to the next one. Rathion ran past me, taking a position between the wasps and the girl, raising his shield to deflect a strike. While he defended both himself and the girl, I busied myself with delivering efficient, deadly strikes to the weak points Rathion and I had discovered on the mobs over the last twelve days. The base of the wings, the stinger, the joint between the upper and lower body. These were the targets my sword sought, and they were the targets that the edge of my blade cut cleanly through. The three wasps dissolved into blue polygons, and the girl slumped to her knees, shaking hard.

I stepped back and sheathed my weapon and looked around, surveying the carnage. A spear, a mace, and a shield were laying on the ground nearby, and a bow had been knocked to the ground a few yards away. Judging by the quiver of arrows showing over the girl's back, the bow belonged to her. I stepped quickly over to it as Rathion tried to soothe the girl, "Hey, shortstack. Get over here."

Rathion froze, and I snickered as I braced for the inevitable. He didn't keep me waiting long, seeming to appear in front of me, rising on his toes and waving his arms about like he was going to try to hit me, "Who did you call so small that a dwarf thinks he's tall by comparison?!"

A grin split my face, "No one, but thanks for giving me the idea."

Rathion froze, then settled for kicking my shin. As I hopped about holding the appendage and swearing under my breath, he collected the girl's bow and returned it to her. They exchanged words, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Being kicked in the shin by a heavy metal boot tended to override normal thought processes, and when Kayaba made his announcement, he must have added pain to SAO, because it _hurt_.

By the time I had recovered my senses and picked up the weaponry strewn about the clearing, Rathion and the girl stood in front of me, him grinning, her holding her bow tightly and looking like she wanted to find a place to hide.

Taking a long look at her, I had to admit she was pretty cute. She in turn, looked at me, small tears clinging to her blue eyes. Only a few inches shorter than me, and several taller than Rathion. Her orange hair fell to her waist, held back in a ponytail save for the bangs that shadowed her eyes.

I took a deep breath, "So, what's a girl like you doing all alone in the forest? If anything gets close to you with that bow, you're toast. So what are you doing here?"

She stuttered slightly, "I-I wasn't on my own. I came here with friends, b-but t-t-they . . ." she gestured to where the weapons and shields had been on the ground, not wanting to say more on the subject, "I dropped bow, a-and I didn't want t-to leave it behind. It's r-rare."

Rathion looked eagerly between us, "So, do you want to join us? We won't die, I promise! Krathys is really strong, and I know that we can keep you safe!"

The girl looked down at him, then back at me. I nodded slightly, implying that it was her decision, and she smiled, "I'd . . . like that. Thank you."

I smiled back, "Of course. Being stuck with the midget all the time and not having anyone else to talk to can get boring sometimes."

"Hey! Who did you call smaller than a hobbit?"

My hand rose, stopping him from launching himself at me, "I would never say you were smaller than a hobbit Rathion." I paused to let him calm slightly, then, "I would say you're about the same size."

Rathion lunged at me, and I sidestepped, letting him crash to the ground. Instead of waiting for him to clamber to his feet, I grabbed the back of his armor and yanked him up, "There ya get squirt. Now how about we get out of this forest?" I looked back at the archer girl, "Will you be fine getting out, or are you sure you would rather stay with us? We'll be here for a while, since we'll take the long way out, so . . ."

The girl shook her head violently, "I'll stay w-with you. I prefer company."

I nodded, and sent her a party invitation. When she accepted and her health bar appeared under mine, I whistled, "Looks like we got here just in time." I pulled a red phial out of my pouch and handed it to her, "Here you go."

She accepted the potion, and I looked closer at her name, "Tay . . . Taylaria? Did I get that right?"

Taylaria nodded, and glanced away, "I wasn't expecting it to be s-so hard to pronounce."

Rathion started bouncing again, scaring Taylaria into darting behind me. For a moment, the boy was confused, then shrugged it off and turned his attention to me, "Hey! Hey Krathys, you know what you should do? Now that we have three people, we should start a guild! Please? Please? Pretty please?"

"Oh no kid. No guilds for me." I raised a hand to cut off his wail, "Hear me out, 'kay? First: You may have noticed the general reaction among players when they learn that I'm a beta tester. They aren't happy with me, and by extension, you. If we start a guild, then people will hear about us, they might come to join, and they'll leave when they learn I'm from the beta."

Taylaria spoke up, "Y-you're a beta tester, Krathys?"

I winced, "Oops. Sure you want to stay now?" I mentally took a note, _'Note to self; STOP TALKING ABOUT THE BETA UNLESS YOU'RE TALKING WITH A BETA TESTER!'_

She hugged my arm, "I want to stay. The beta testers are strong. I trust you."

Rathion and I exchanged long looks, and I shrugged, "Okay then."

The tank started jumping again, "See? People don't all hate beta testers! It's just some of them! Will you make a guild now? Will you? Will you?"

A groan left me as I shook my head, "Again Rath, no." He stopped jumping, and the crestfallen look on his face was worse than his puppy dog eyes. I groaned louder, "Okay, okay, fine. If we get one more person, then I'll make a guild. Happy?"

"Yay!"

I shook my head, "You're such a kid." Gesturing to the forest, I continued, "But you're a kid with the heavy armor and more health than us. Take point. Taylaria, you take the middle, I'll cover the rear. Everyone keep your weapons ready."

()()()()

Hours later, the three of us were slowly going mad trying to leave the Shrouded Forest area. Rathion's constant voice didn't really help.

"Krathys, I think we're lost."

"If we're lost, it's your fault, Rathion. You're the one in the lead."

"But you're the one who said we should go left instead of right! Now look where we are!"

In fact, we had left the overgrown part of the forest, and were now in a cave, which was dimly lit by an occasional hole to the surface, though even that light was starting to fade as the sun went down. Random drops from monsters had made us rich in Col and drops we could sell, and had also provided us with the occasional health potion. Or, since many of the monsters were poisonous, they sometimes gave us antidotes instead. So we were stuck in a cave, starting to go blind from lack of light, but hey, at least we were at full health. Right?

Rathion let out a cry of pain and flew back, knocking Taylaria to the ground. A quick look at his health bar told me we should run, but then I realized that he'd been caught by surprise, probably by an enemy with the «Hiding» skill. That would have doubled or tripled the damage he took, meaning that we could still fight. On top of that, enemies with skills were fairly rare here on the first floor, and rare enemies meant rare drops.

I pulled out a healing potion, handing it to Rathion without taking my eyes off of the corridor up ahead. When the tank and archer were back on their feet, I accessed my menu, "If we're about to fight something, we're gonna need more light." A lit torch materialized, and I grabbed it with my left hand before thrusting it into the soft ground. The flickering flame lit the cavern up, and we got our first look at the new enemy.

A black scorpion reared up on its hindmost legs, snapping at us with pincers the size of our swords. Rathion raised his shield and sword, Taylaria drew an arrow with trembling fingers, and I readied my blade, "If anyone gets down to half health, either use a healing potion or run until you exit combat and use your homing crystal to get back to town."

The others nodded, and Rathion started forward, looking calmly at the scorpion, before letting out a yell and stabbing at it. His blade glanced off of one of its pincers, and the tail snapped forward, slamming into his shield and making him stumble slightly. Before the monster could take advantage, Taylaria she loosed an arrow. The projectile hissed through the air, slamming into the Scorpion's face and making it hiss in pain. Rathion regained his balance and hacked at it again with his sword at the same time as it struck at him with a pincer. Their attacks ricocheted off of each other, and both stumbled back. I struck, "Switch!"

Rathion moved to the side, and I whipped past him, jumped onto the Scorpion's back and brought my weapon to my target. My sword cut halfway through the Scorpion's tail, and it screeched in pain before said tail struck, punching into my shoulder and pinning me to the wall. That was the problem with computer games, even a half-severed appendage could still be used. A green symbol appeared at the edge of my status bar, and I yelled out in pain as my health began to drop rapidly. The Scorpion drew a pincer back, not releasing me from where it had me pinned to the wall, and started to snap forward, ready to cut me in half. I struggled hard, trying to dislodge the tail, but it was stuck pretty firmly into me.

Just before the pincer struck, a blue flash at the base of its tail made the scorpion shriek, and then its tail dissolved into blue polygons as Rathion cut it fully off. I dropped to the ground directly in front of the scorpion, and its pincer slammed into the wall just above my head, showering me with rocks. The monster tried to strike again, but this time I was mobile, and rolled forwards, pushing off of the wall and ending up directly beneath it. Before I could take advantage of my position, it scuttled away, swarming up the wall like a spider, or like the insect that I belatedly realized it was.

Rathion appeared at my side, "You okay, Krathys?"

I pulled out a pair of potions, "No." I downed the liquids, one green, and one red, to restore my status and health to normal, before I pushed myself off the ground, "But I am now. Did it get you with the tail?"

Rathion shook his head, "I think it hit me with a pincer when it was hiding. Hurt a ton, but didn't poison me."

As we recovered our breath and considered our next move, the scorpion hung above us on the ceiling, probably doing the same. I glanced at Taylaria, "Can you shoot it down? Aim for its legs or something?"

The girl shrugged slightly, "I-I can try."

She drew back a new arrow and loosed quickly. Rathion and I moved so we were under the scorpion, when it fell, we would be flanking it. Whoever it targeted, the other would strike it from behind.

Taylaria's first shot glanced off of the rocks, and the Scorpion hissed angrily at her before starting to scuttle towards her. The girl took a deep breath and drew another arrow as Rathion and I kept underneath the scorpion, and Taylaria pulled on her bow again. Her arrow turned bright red, and her eyes narrowed as the system focused her aim. A moment later, she released, and the the scorpion gave a horrendous howl as her arrow punched deep into one of its thin legs. It clung to the ceiling for another moment, then dropped to the ground, still moving towards Taylaria.

It stopped moving as Rathion cut the three legs on his side in half, and I jumped on its back, punching my blade through its carapace and pinning it to the ground. The mob thrashed around, but it was nailed firmly in place, and I looked up at Taylaria, "Looks like this thing is just about done in. Would you care to do the honors?"

Taylaria nodded and drew back another arrow, sighting on the Scorpion's head and firing into its skull. It thrashed for a moment longer, then dissolved into polygons, drifting away and breaking apart. A small screen popped up in front of Taylaria, and she accepted the rewards, "Thank you . . . for helping me."

I smiled, "Of course, sorry we dragged you into this."

She shook her head, "No, my friends and I, w-we were on a quest t-to kill the scorpion. I'm sorry, I-I should have told you earlier."

There was a long moment of silence, and then I frowned, "You had a quest to kill the scorpion? That might explain why we kept getting lost. Certain quests won't let you leave an area until they're completed, which means that we should be able to leave now."

Taylaria shook her head again, "We were supposed t-to kill two of them."

Rathion frowned, "Then . . . where's the second one?"

"Famous last words."

I had just barely finished my sentence when I flew forward as something hit me in the back, and I tumbled to a halt near the torch. Rathion moved to intercept the new arrival as Taylaria snapped a shot off, and I dragged myself over to the wall of the cavern, trying to catch my breath. I was in the lower half of yellow health, being more speed and attack based rather than defense and health, and I wasted little time in using my last health potion. When my health had been restored, I stood, moving towards Rathion and the Scorpion, preparing to switch with him.

Rathion was actually putting up a tough fight with the scorpion, meeting it equally blow for blow. That was, until it caught his sword in one of its pincers and snapped the blade in two. He hastily raised his shield to deflect the deadly tail, and I started a switch, only to realize that it would probably distract Rathion, a distraction that could easily prove fatal.

So I looked at Taylaria, "Can you hit it in the eye?"

The girl didn't respond, instead drawing back an arrow, triggering the same skill that had allowed her to hit the last scorpion's leg. She called for Rathion to get out of the way as she released the arrow, and Rathion dove to the side as her shot pierced the Scorpion's huge, upper left eye. I took advantage of the beast's distraction, swiping open my menu and pulling out the only other one-handed weapon I had with me.

I threw the mace I'd picked up when we met Taylaria to Rathion, "Rath! Catch!"

The boy twisted, and his hand wrapped around the handle of the mace. He turned back to the scorpion and brought the mace around, slamming the heavy weapon into the tip of the scorpion's tail, shattering the appendage. The Scorpion squealed in pain and tried to draw back, but Rathion jumped forwards, bringing the mace down on its head twice in quick succession, effectively smashing its skull.

A burst of light filled the room as the Scorpion dissolved into polygons, and I looked at Taylaria, "If you say that you were really supposed to kill three . . ."

Taylaria shook her head, "n-no . . . just the two.

A sigh of relief escaped me, "Good. I don't want to deal with any more of those things."

Rathion swiped at his menu, then opened an item. A pile of black material fell into his arms, and he turned to me, "Can you make anything with this Krathys?"

I walked over and tapped the material, inspecting it. **«Cave Scorpion Carapace»** blinked to life on my screen, and I tapped my chin, "Let's take it back to town and get it to a forge. If I can't Craft anything with it, we could take it to an NPC blacksmith for Col."

()()()()

Three hours later, we stood in a blacksmith's shop, and I had the scorpion hide laid out on an anvil. A hammer was in my hand, and I tapped the hide gently, drawing up a list of possible equipment. I selected **«Scorpion Armor»** and the menu vanished as I raised the hammer again. Three short blows, and the hide began to glow, shifting into a light brown breastplate. Taylaria handed me the carapace she'd gotten, and I crafted a pair of boots and gloves to match the armor. I leaned back from the table, wiping sweat from my brow. Even if the process was shorter in SAO than it was in the real world, it was still mentally exhausting. I lifted the set of armor from the table, starting to hand it to Taylaria, "Here. It was your quest, you should have these."

The girl shook her head, "I w-wouldn't have done it w-without you. You keep them. I'll be f-fine with the armor my party was w-wearing . . . when they-" she cut herself off, and Rathion set a hand on her arm. Taylaria started to shy away slightly, then seemed to accept the touch, as if drawing strength from the boy.

I looked uncertainly at her, "if you're sure . . ." I stashed the armor in my storage, then equipped it directly. My body shimmered as the old gear was switched out with the Scorpion armor, and a small screen popped up in front of me. **'«Scorpion Hide Armor» equipped. Armor bonus: Resistance to Poison, +10%.'**

A quick trade with Taylaria gave her my old gear, and the armor that had been left behind by her last party. I turned around - and grabbed Rathion's arm to turn him when his naive little mind didn't process what was happening - as she swiped at her menu, equipping the superior gear. When we turned back, she was wearing the silver and green «Scale Mail» armor that I had previously been using, as well as a set of leather gloves and boots. I nodded to her, then took the rest of the gear to the front of the shop to sell it off. We didn't need the money, but I could use it to buy crafting material to upgrade our gear.

When that was done, the three of us headed out to find a restaurant. Taylaria's quest had given us experience and Col, bringing Rathion and I to level seven, and her to level five. We found a quiet little shop near the edge of town, and took a spot in the corner while we waited for our food.

For a long time, our little table was quiet, and I eventually spoke up, "So, Taylaria, what's your story?"

The archer leaned her bow against the wall, and took a small drink, thinking over her answer. She set her cup back on the table and leaned back into her chair, "Not m-much, really. My friends and I logged in and then joined a party t-together. When Kayaba told us about the announcement w-we stayed in t-town for a couple of days then headed here. We found our quest with some help from an info broker, and when w-we got into the forest we were ambushed. T-the rest you know."

I sat back, setting the tips of my fingers together, "So they were your friends in the real world as well? You're taking their deaths awfully well."

Taylaria shrugged, "Not really. We all m-made an agreement t-that if any of us d-d-died whoever was left would c-carry on. Before the quest t-they all said that I was the talkative one."

I winced slightly, "oh . . . sorry about that. I thought that you-"

She held a hand up, shaking her head, "It's okay, y-you didn't know."

Rathion spoke up, "So Taylaria, will you be staying with us then? We'd love to have you as a permanent member of the party!"

There was a moment of silence, and then Taylaria nodded shyly, "if it isn't t-too much trouble."

I shook my head, "It's no trouble at all." A moment passed, and I leaned forward slightly, "If you don't mind me asking, where were you and your friends from, in the real world?"

". . ." Taylaria didn't say anything for a long moment, and I started to take a drink of water before she spoke, "Tokyo."

Rathion and I froze, then began speaking in sync, "that's where I'm from!" The two of us looked at each other, "You're from there too? Stop talking when I'm talking!"

The two of us opened our mouths to continue, but I forced mine shut to stop the accidental unison speech. Rathion did the same, and for a long moment, there was silence before I gestured for him to go first. He looked between us , "We're all from the same city? Why haven't we met before?"

I thought about it for a short moment, "It actually isn't even improbable. Of the ten thousand Nervegear and copies of SAO that were sold, most of them were sold in the major cities. Three thousand in Tokyo alone. So it makes sense that most of the players here are from those cities. Plus, Tokyo if freaking huge, it makes sense that we never met each other in real life."

Taylaria giggled, "We'll need to meet up w-when we get out of the game."

Rathion's suddenly looked like a deer in headlights, his voice a whisper, "But . . . so far around a thousand players have already died. Some of those would be classmates of ours, wouldn't they? Classmates, and teachers and family friends. People we know. Aren't they?"

The jovial atmosphere shattered as Rathion spoke, and I stared down into my glass, "Yeah . . . I guess it does."

I thought about my friends in the real world. Around five of us had planned to get the NerveGear, but events had been twisted up, and the other four had all been out of town when Sword Art Online was launched. There was no death game threatening them, at least. We'd had plans to meet up and log in when they all got back, though that was obviously never happening. But Rathion and Taylaria might still have people they knew in the game. Taylaria had already lost three of her friends to the wasps in the forest, and I had never asked Rathion if he'd had close friends in Sword Art Online. Heck, I hadn't even given him a chance to think about them, I had just snatched him up and ran off. Suddenly, everything that had we'd done over the last two weeks were tinged with a major sense of guilt.

Shaking myself out of the stupor we'd gotten ourselves into, I reached across the table and grabbed their hands. They looked up at me, and I put on the best smile I could muster, "My friends are back in the real world, without being threatened by Kayaba. We'll keep an eye out for your friends, but we also need to keep an eye out for each other. If they get out, great, we'll throw parties until the end of time. If they don't, I'll track down Kayaba Akihiko and tear him a cosmos of new ones. But until we find them, worrying about what might have happened isn't going to help anyone. Let's worry about getting out of this death game before we worry about them. And, if by chance we meet up with them while we try to get out, fantastic, we'll party up and work together. Until then, we'll focus on surviving long enough to find them."

Reviewing what I just said, I gave a brief laugh and leaned back, rubbing the back of my neck, "That sounded really selfish of me, didn't it?"

Rathion shrugged, "Well, yeah, but it got the point across."

Taylaria nodded, "We'll protect each other, and t-trust our friends to protect themselves."

**End of Chapter Two**

**Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter!**

**Yes, Rathion is as mature as a nine year old. I like the childish personality, there isn't enough of it in SAO, so I made a character with one. Sue me. Yui is my favorite character for that reason, she acts like a kid some of the time and like an adult other times. And everyone loves her for it.**

**Hey, so since you've read all the way through this chapter, could you take an extra minute or so to leave a review and tell me what you think of it? I'd really appreciate it, reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And when I feel warm and fuzzy inside, I do better work on my chapters! Everyone wins!**

**Oh, I need a beta reader for this story, would anyone be interested in taking up the task? PM me if you're willing to help out!**

**Speaking of reviewing, thanks so much to Agent 94 for reviewing the last two chapters and giving constructive criticism! Cookie for you!**

**Keep Writing, Keep Rocking Everyone!**

**Undeadmonkey8**


	4. Darkness in the Past

**I do not own Sword Art Online**

**Original Posting Date: 8/29/14**

**Edited: 9/1/14**

**The Scarlet Angels**

**Chapter III**

**December 3rd, 2022**

Rathion, Taylaria, and I had been laid up in the town of Valiorfor the better part of three days now. We'd ground for experience and Col until we hit level 15, at which point the monsters on this floor pretty much stopped giving us experience. Since then, we'd simply waited in town for something to happen. People were already mapping out this floor's labyrinth, so even if we went to help out, we would be a long ways behind. Virtually all of the floor's quests were completed, and the few that were still out there were difficult to find and generally not worth the effort. So we waited. Rathion trained with the mace he'd been using since our encounter with the scorpions, Taylaria stocked up on arrows and bought a dagger to defend herself with should things get to close range, and I worked on my «Craft» skill.

I was leaning against an alley wall with Taylaria when the hustle and bustle of the small town were interrupted by a message popping up under my health bar. I tapped accept, and a smile slowly spread across my face as I read it.

Rathion walked up, his shoulder-length blonde hair loose and a milk mustache on his upper lip from lunch, "What's up Krathys?"

I glanced at him, "Nice 'stache. I got a message from The Rat, says she wants to meet us." A frown flickered across my face, "How did she get my name?"

Taylaria fingered her bow, "I don't like her. She's too focused on money, and it isn't even money that will travel to the real world!" The girl had recovered from the death of her previous party, at least enough to have a tongue as sharp as my sword.

A slight shrug was my first response. My second was longer, "It might not work as money in the real world, but look at it this way Taylaria. We've been here a month, and we're still on the first floor. Two thousand of us have died. From the way things are going, it's going to be a long time before we get out of SAO. So she might as well make herself comfortable while she's here."

The archer looked to the ground, "I still don't like her. Does she say where she wants to meet?"

Swiping at the message again, I glanced over it again, "She says to wait where we are and she'll be here in a few minutes." I looked at the other two, "I still don't understand how she got my name. Did one of you accept a friend request from her?"

Rathion nodded, his mustache gone, "We met while I was out looking for a blacksmith who could upgrade my mace the other day. She offered to cover the portion of the cost that I couldn't afford, then bought me lunch. I owe her a favor, before you ask what she wanted in return. I also told her to contact you if she had any interesting information."

I nodded, "Okay, that's fine. We'll figure out what to do about that favor at a later date. Having an info broker for a friend is always a good thing. It's also a good thing that you were the one to meet her and not Taylaria. We don't want her alienated."

"You don't want who alienated?" A new voice chimed in from above us.

The three of us glanced up, and a hooded player hopped off of the roof of the building we stood next to, landing in a crouch and straightening before patting Rathion on the head, "Nice to see you again kid. Keeping good company I hope?"

A wry smile crossed my face, "Depends on your idea of good company Argo." I nodded to her as she turned, "Nice to see you again."

Argo frowned, "I'm sorry, have we done business before?"

My smile widened, "August thirteenth. Aincrad's third floor. I believe you were having trouble with a river?"

The info broker's eyes widened, "Ar-"

I clapped a hand across her mouth, "My name is Krathys now. I don't use my beta name, too many people would recognize it."

She nodded, "Right, right, you have a few entries in the guidebook. And then there was that interview with MMO Today before the game was released. Probably a good thing to not use your beta name."

Taylaria glanced between us, "Krathys? You had an interview with MMO today? When was this? And you're awfully calm about her knowing about your beta status." I idly noted that when she stopped switching between the two of us, she was aiming a smoldering glare at Argo.

I waved a hand airily, "Argo offers discounts to old friends, and the interview was a week or so before the game went online. I was one of about fifty, a beta tester by the name of Kirito being the only other one I know personally. Now he was a good player. Remind me to challenge him to a duel if we ever run into him."

Argo nodded, "MMO Today was mostly interested in the players from the higher floors. Krathys here was on the seventh floor when the beta went offline, I was on the fifth. The guy he mentioned, Kirito, was the only one in the game who reached the eighth floor. So the three of us were interviewed. In actual rankings, Krathys was ranked thirty-three, I think?" I nodded, and she continued, "Krathys was the thirty-third strongest player during the beta test. Meaning that among the ten thousand players you guys could have picked from, thirty two would have been better suited to helping you. Most of those guys were from the lower floors though, not many beta testers made it past the third and fourth floors. But this big badass here stormed right through those floors, almost like he didn't get off except to eat. Maybe not the strongest, but one of the most knowledgeable." She turned her gaze from my party to me, "Speaking of which, I'm going to want some of that info for the guidebook. You know I pay well."

"In any case, I changed my name to Krathys once the game started because I didn't want to be followed around by anyone who might recognize the name." I said, ignoring the Rat's proposition for now, "Call me paranoid if you want, I didn't want the attention. Wisely, as it turns out, considering the general tone towards Beta testers lately."

Rathion's bright green eyes twinkled, and he started bouncing, "So what was your name in the beta test?" I didn't respond, and he looked to Argo, "What was it?"

Taylaria smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "I'd like to know as well."

Argo held out a hand, palm up, "Seven hundred and fifty col will have your answer."

The other two opened up their menus to begin the trade, so I spoke up quickly, "Before you give out our hard earned cash trying to get my old name, how about we find out what the point to this meeting was?" I looked at Argo, "You asked us here, so you must have information for us. It must be worth a fair amount for you to come to us."

Ms. Rat smiled slyly, "Oh, so you do remember how I work. Nice to know, that saves time. We've already wasted plenty." She cleared her throat as I gave her a 'get on with it' look, "fifteen hundred col. It's worth every piece, and there's even a discount for helping me during the beta."

I gave Taylaria a 'told you so' look, and she flipped me off. Rathion and I chuckled, then I sighed slightly, "Seven fifty."

"Fourteen hundred."

"Eight."

Argo shot me a glare, "Twelve."

"Ten."

"Eleven fifty final offer."

"Done." I opened the trade window and transferred the agreed amount, "Now, what is it?"

Argo closed her menu before replying, "A raiding party found the boss room for this floor. There's a meeting being held today, in one hour, in the amphitheater area of Origo. They want everyone willing to fight to be there." A quick swipe at her menu returned 600 col to me, "I was joking about all that. I don't charge that much for common knowledge."

She started to walk away, and I called out, "How much to keep my name quiet?"

I could hear her smirk, "Nothing. Nothing but a promise. You need information, you come to me, and me only. No other info broker allowed." She paused, "You know what that means, right?"

My lips twitched into a smile, "It means that you get rich off of me, because if I have any question, no matter how small, you can charge me loads for it." I shrugged, "You're the best in your business anyway. You have a deal."

Argo nodded, "Good. I wasn't planning to sell you out though, new players have killed beta testers before, just for being beta testers. Apparently some of us have given everyone a bad rep." She flashed a smile, "Good luck!"

Taylaria glared daggers at me as Argo made her exit, "Why did you agree to that? It isn't like people knowing your name will be the end of the world."

Rathion frowned, "You heard her Taylaria. Beta testers have been killed just for being beta testers. Plus, it isn't up to us to decide what Krathys wants people to know. Taylaria. I'm sure you've got things you don't want all of SAO to know as well."

"Besides, with Argo thinking that we'll only come to her, it means that she'll come to us if she finds something she thinks we'll be interested in. Another reason I wanted her to know who I was." I smiled, "I don't care so much about the name, though it is nice to be thought of as Krathys and not the person I played as in the beta test. I . . . wasn't the nicest guy. In any event, if Argo goes by her normal procedure of making as much money as possible, we're her prime clients. That goes both ways, we come to her if we need to know something, and she'll come to us if something comes up that will benefit us. Meaning we'll get a head start on special quests or events that not many people know about."

Understanding dawned on Taylaria's face before it was replaced with a scowl, "I still don't have to like her, right? And I don't want to be the one working with her."

I groaned, "Okay, what happened between you and The Rat?"

She frowned, and looked away, "Argo . . . was the one who told my party about the quest that got them all killed. She said that it would be easy for a party of three people if any of them knew what they were doing."

Rathion and I winced, and then I stepped away from the wall, "I'm sorry to hear that Taylaria, I really am. But the three of us did handle that quest on our own, whether or not it was 'easy' is a moot point. Lots of things were easy during the beta test, but many of those things have gotten harder, because now we don't respawn in the Town of Beginnings. Argo didn't mean for your party to be killed." Taylaria glared at the ground, and I sighed, "Look, Taylaria. I'm not going to say let the past stay in the past because that clearly isn't happening. But for the love of any god that will listen, whether it be christian, ancient greek or what have you, don't pin it all on Argo. If your party wanted a safe life without danger you would have never left the town of beginnings. They took a risk and it didn't pay off, that isn't Argo's fault. So stow your crap and let's get to that meeting."

Taylaria's gaze rose from the pavement, burning with anger. I met the look evenly, and for a moment, sparks seemed to fly between the two glares.

Then Rathion stepped between us, holding his hands out, "Guys, come on, we're supposed to be a party. That won't work if we fight each other over something so simple as 'who did what to whom.' Maybe Argo made a mistake, maybe she didn't. Maybe that quest was a bad idea, maybe it wasn't. Your party died, but you met us. It _happened_, and there isn't a way to undo it now. Instead of arguing, how about we go and see this meeting, and then get out of this game? Can we all agree that's a good idea?"

Our death glare contest interrupted, the two of us looked down at Rathion. He looked at the two of us evenly, waiting for a response. I caved, and extended a hand to Taylaria, "Truce?"

The archer hesitantly reached out and shook hands, "Truce. Sorry."

I held up my free hand in a peaceful manner, "Don't worry about it, you weren't the only one at fault." My hand dropped, reaching into my pouch and pulling out a «Homing Crystal». I tapped the white crystal and a map of the first floor sprung into the air above it, displaying all of the towns I'd been to. I selected «Origo», and a bright light shone around me as the teleport took effect. Unlike a «Teleport Crystal» or «Corridor Crystal», which could be used at any time, to go anywhere, but were single-use only and only showed up on the higher floors, a «Homing Crystal»could only be used while outside of combat, and could only teleport between towns, but didn't disappear when used. They were given to each player upon creation of their character, and couldn't be stolen, sold, or destroyed.

We arrived in the specified town, and stepped off of the teleport platform, surprised at the large mob of players already milling about. Ignoring the crowd and moving towards the Coliseum, the three of us met a blue haired player going by the name of Diabel, who claimed to be the one who called for the meeting. There were a few players already scattered around the coliseum, but no one was down in the center area with the four of us.

Diabel gave a large smile and extended a hand, "It's nice to meet you, thanks for coming." He glanced just to the right of my face, where my health, status, and most importantly, my name would be listed. "Have you played many MMORPG's . . . Krathys? Did I say that right?"

I smiled, "Yeah, you said it right, and I've played a fair number, but this is the best by a long shot. Deaths aside." I gestured to the two flanking me, "These are Rathion and Taylaria. Rath and I met up on the first day, Aria, we met two weeks ago." A sharp hand across the back of my head made me wince and rub the assaulted spot, "What? You're name is way too long, I needed some way to shorten it."

The blue haired boy chuckled slightly, "Well, it seems like you know each other quite well. It's nice to see that this game hasn't broken everyone."

I took a good look at him for the first time. He was wearing a shield across his back and a sword hung at his hip. Both of those were pretty good, probably from a quest he'd found somewhere, and the armor he wore over his clothes seemed better than most people. Maybe not as good as the «Scorpion Armor»I wore, but that was the result of a rare monster drop. His clothes though . . . those caught my attention. Most people in SAO wore long sleeve shirts and sweatpants, maybe a cloak if they were lucky. Diabel though, he had a fancy blue coat hanging to his knees that had to be the result of a rare quest. My eyes narrowed slightly, "I have a question for you. A private one." My voice dropped to avoid others hearing, "That coat you have. Where did you get it?"

Diabel seemed caught off guard by the question, but then smiled slightly, "I could ask you the same thing about that armor you have. Custom made?" His voice was as low as my own.

"A pair of quest scorpions almost killed us. I crafted this armor from their hides." I muttered, "Your turn, Diavel. If we want to get it out in the open at the same time, we can both admit to being beta testers."

His eyes widened, "How did you figure that out?" He hissed.

A slight shrug was my initial response, "That coat is a bit fancy for a common drop, so it must have come from a quest. Since most of the beta testers would have been looking for quests like that, you must have known where to go. You still haven't answered my question directly, but I suppose that it's out in the open now. You're not like the other betas though, you called a meeting for help instead of claiming everything for yourself. So here you are, bringing people together instead of driving them away. Why?"

"Partly because I need help." Diabel admitted, "The Boss for this floor is tough. I can't handle it on my own, no normal party can. We'll need a massive strike force." His eyes narrowed, "Come to think of it, you seem awfully well equipped to be a new player as well. That sword of yours looks pretty rare."

I glanced down at the weapon in question. The one handed sword had a silver hilt with a ruby set into the pommel, and the sheath was also fancier than normal, royal blue with plain gold linings. My eyes locked with Diabel's again, and I shrugged, "I thought it was rather obvious when I said 'we can both admit at the same time, but whatever. Guilty as charged, it takes one to know one." I pulled the «Ghostbane +3»free and flipped it around, offering it to Diabel hilt first, "You can swing it around some, but I want it back. The quest was based in the abandoned temple on the eastern side of this floor, it was a bitch to complete, and I officially hate all forms of the undead. "

My sword hissed through the air as Diabel tested it out, "I can understand why. I think the only sword I've seen close to this on the first floor was the «Anneal Blade» in the beta, and that was on par with weapons from floor two or three." He returned the weapon to me, "So that's how you work? You three complete quests, you take the best gear, and when you get something better you hand the old off to the others?" His voice was hard.

"Hey, hey, I never said that." I raised my hands defensively, "Yes, we go around doing quests, but we split the gear according to who can use it best. If it's heavy armor or a shield, Rathion gets it. Medium armor, and some light armors, I take it. Most light armor, daggers, and all ranged weapons go to Taylaria. One handed weapons are divided between Rathion and me, though he seems to have taken a liking to maces since we met Taylaria." My sword rang as it scraped against its scabbard as I put it away, "Then we go grind for materials so I can upgrade the gear. Ghostbane had strong base stats, but I've already maxed it out for upgrades. Rathion's shield Demon's Wall, on the other hand, had much lower stats to begin with, but I've brought it up to be an equal match to shields you might find on floors three and four. Basic shields from a vendor, of course. An upgraded quest shield would leave it in the dust."

Diabel thought for a moment, "I guess that seems fair enough. Is there any chance you could be convinced to upgrade people's gear tonight, and tomorrow before we leave? I don't want people to die because they had weaker gear than they could have."

I thought for a moment, "I could, but they would have to provide the materials to upgrade it, and just a bit of Col. Ten per item would be plenty." Diabel gave me a look, and I laughed, "Hey, ten Col per item upgraded is a good deal, and I won't even charge if the upgrade doesn't work. Much better than any NPC blacksmith would offer."

Before Diabel could respond, the coliseum began to fill with people, and the town's bell rang out. He quickly nodded to me, and I moved to the side with Rathion and Taylaria, letting him take the stage. We sat down on a fallen pillar behind him as he addressed the crowd, and Rathion leaned over to me, "I thought you didn't want people to know you were a beta tester? You were pretty cool telling him about it." He whispered.

"Diabel is a beta tester too, if you didn't hear our conversation." I muttered back, "He isn't about to go blabbing about it to everyone, or else I'll counter with the fact that he's a beta tester himself. Then we're both dead. Besides, he seems like a good guy, not to mention smart. I want him to like us, and keeping secrets from him isn't the way to go about that. I blew his cover of being a beta tester to you guys, so I had to blow mine to him to keep things even."

In the center of the arena, Diabel was talking to the crowds about how his 'job' was being a knight. That drew laughs from most of the crowd, since there was no actual job or class system in SAO like there was in most RPG's, and I smiled slightly. Diabel was an excellent speaker, breaking the ice with a little joke before moving on to more serious discussions, such as the location of the floor boss.

He called for people to start splitting into groups of six, then walked over to us as the players in the crowd above did so. I stood as he drew near, "Care to join us during the battle?"

Diabel smiled, "I was planning to ask that, actually. My last party disbanded when we got back to town, and I haven't seen them since. Mind inviting me?"

My menu was already open, and I tapped the party page. «Invite player 'Diabel' to a party?».I pressed accept, and a screen opened in front of Diabel, closing as he accepted. His health bar was added to the others, and I inspected it, "Another level fifteen. You certainly didn't go after the boss unprepared."

His smile didn't waver, "I suspect that every Beta tester still alive has hit level fifteen by now. The Labyrinth is an excellent place to get experience. Though I never saw you three in there, where did you go?"

Taylaria smiled as well, "We fought monsters deeper in the Ancient Foreston the far side of the floor. There are some minor dungeons out in that region, which is where we got our weapons and armor." She gestured to her bow, a simple but elegant white item called the «Faerie Bow». It had been the reward dropped by a lesser dungeon boss, same with my «Ghostbane»and Rathion's «Demon's Wall». Of the three of us, Rathion was the only one without a unique weapon, but he made up for it by having me upgrade his Mace as best I could, which by now was better than the NPC blacksmiths on the floor.

Diabel nodded, "I got the coat from a hidden chest in the Labyrinth. It provides a nice boost to my defense at the cost of agility. It's called the Noble's Cloak, but I don't think the name is very good for it. I prefer to think of it as more of a knight's tunic myself."

"Kayaba was a clever guy, but I guess even he couldn't have come up with thousands upon thousands of clever names himself." I smiled, before nodding to the coliseum, "It looks like they're all ready for you. Did you have anyone else in mind for the party?"

The knight's face blanched, "Crap." He muttered, "We got sidetracked. Now we'll have to find some people not already in a party to finish us up."

He moved back to the center of the arena, but before he could talk, a new voice yelled, "Wait!"

Heads turned as a new player arrived, jumping down the rows of benches. I watched his progress, just waiting for him to miss a step and land hard on his face, but he arrived at the bottom unscathed. Something about him ticked me off, whether it was the arrogant look on his face, or the way he carried himself like he was entitled to everything, I wasn't sure.

"My name is Kibaou, and some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand people who have died so far!" He yelled, pointing into the crowd.

Diabel swallowed, then stepped forward, "Are you referring to the beta testers?"

My eyes narrowed slightly. If this Kibaou knew who I was, then he would have called me out on it, unless he was trying to be subtle with whatever information he might have. Had Argo sold me out? No, that couldn't be it. Argo was a businesswoman, she didn't break a deal once it was made.

Kibaou nodded vigorously, "On the first day, when Kayaba made his announcement, the beta testers up and ditched all of the new guys. They took all of the good hunting spots for themselves, along with the easy quests. As a result of that, two thousand players have died!" He crossed his arms, looking smugly around, "I know there have to be beta testers here somewhere. They should come out, get on their knees, and apologize, along with handing over all of the Col and rare gear they've gotten over this last month. Otherwise, we can't trust them, nor should they trust us."

I leaned back slightly, crossing my arms and letting my weight rest on a bit of crumbled wall behind us, trying to avoid drawing attention. Argo had told us about what had happened to beta testers, and I wasn't too keen on testing Kayaba's proclamation about dying in the real world. Taylaria stood up suddenly, and I looked up at her in shock as she walked forwards.

The people pointing at her made Kibaou turn and look, and he grunted, "So, you're a beta tester? Why don't you ha-"

She slapped him across the face.

Silence reigned throughout the coliseum as Kibaou staggered, a hand pressed to his cheek. Taylaria crossed her arms, "I'm not a beta tester, thanks very much, but you seem to be forgetting something. The two thousand people who have died so far haven't been all new players. Around three hundred of them have been beta testers. Some of those beta testers have died to protect new players like you, and you think that you deserve the gear they've gotten? Out of nine thousand new players, around seventeen hundred have died. In other words, a little less than twenty percent. Of the one thousand beta testers, close to three hundred have died. That's thirty percent of them. Who has suffered more losses, compared to the number still alive?"

The archer crossed her arms and applied a glare that would have roasted someone alive if looks could kill, "Some of the beta testers have been douchebags, and ditched the new players. They wanted to survive, it's human nature. But a lot of them worked to help the new players." Her gaze swept up and around the stadium seats, "How many of you have ever actually met a beta tester?" A few hands went up, and she continued, "Of the beta testers you've met, have they all been pretentious assholes, or have some of them helped you? I'm willing to bet that at least a few of you owe your lives to a beta tester, am I wrong?"

As no one contradicted her, Taylaria turned on her heel and walked back to where Rathion and I sat. Before she'd gone a few steps, Kibaou recovered his tongue, "If the beta testers hadn't left us, then fewer of both would have died! One beta tester could easily train nine people how to fight here, and then we might already have left this floor!"

People started muttering in the crowd above us again, and I sighed at the ease with which a mob of people could be swayed. Taylaria started to turn back, but this time, someone else stepped up. A mammoth of a man, with dark skin and a giant axe strapped over his back. He walked up behind Kibaou and tapped his shoulder, "May I speak?"

Kibaou turned to tell the man off, but lost his nerve when he realized that the man was at least twice his size. He nodded weakly, and the man continued, "My name is Agil, and tell me if I have this correct. You say that because the beta testers left the new players, many of both died. And you believe that to pay for the deaths so far, the beta testers who have come here today, to help everyone in Sword Art Online, should be forced to give up everything they have worked to gain so far. Their gear should be given to people who aren't as good of fighters, and therefore cannot use that gear as effectively, and their money should be handed out to everyone but them. Am I correct?"

Kibaou nodded, "Y-yeah. It's only fair!" His words were tough, but his voice had risen an octave or so. I couldn't blame him, that guy looked scary.

Agil pulled something from his pouch, and a smirk found its way onto my face as I realized it was the guidebook that Argo had been handing out, "Did you collect one of these at the start of the game? All of the vendors are handing them out for free." He waited for Kibaou to nod before continuing, "This guidebook, available to every player in the game, was compiled using information provided by beta testers. It contains hunting grounds, quest locations and descriptions, skills, and everything people could want to know about Sword Art Online. But even so, many people have died. The beta testers aren't at fault for that, they're the reason that eight thousand people are still alive. Every person who has gotten information from this guidebook owes the beta testers their gratitude, not their hatred." He turned and went back to his seat, leaving Kibaou trembling in rage.

I leaned over to Rathion, "Run around the sides and see if that guy's in a party. If he isn't, point him my way, I want him on our team."

Rathion nodded and scurried around the pillars lining the coliseum, hurrying up the steps and making his way across to Agil. The two conversed for a moment, and then Rathion looked over, giving me a thumbs up. Agil looked at me as well and nodded, and I swiped open my menu, sending him an invitation. He accepted, and his information appeared alongside everyone else's. Rathion hurried back over, and I groaned as I realized how many people were now in our party.

Sure enough, when Rathion returned, he started bouncing in his seat, "So Krathys? What are we going to call our guild? We agreed to make one when we had four people, and now we have five. So what is it going to be called?"

I sighed and set a hand on his shoulder, "Rathion, please. Diabel and Agil are only going to be in the party temporarily. Chances are that they'll leave once the boss is done with. If they want to stay after the raid, then sure, we'll form that guild. If they don't, then we only have three people, not four. Capiche?"

Rathion's face fell, "Aww, I wanted to be part of a guild."

My hand patted his shoulder gently, "Don't worry Rath, we'll find a fourth permanent member eventually. That, or we might join a guild some day. Who knows?"

Diabel was holding up the guidebook, regaining control of the crowd, "The boss for this floor is called Ilfang the Kobold Lord. He has four health bars, and since he's a boss, we can assume that each one has at least as much health as a level fifteen player. His weapons are an axe and buckler, but when his last health bar hits the red zone, he gets rid of them, and uses a two handed sword called a No-Dachi. On top of all that, he's guarded by lesser mobs called Ruin Sentinals. We can assume that they will have special attacks, some of which may not be listed in the guidebook, since the people who wrote it are only human." He put the book away, and looked back over the crowd, "Everyone who wants to come is welcome, but they should know that this mission could easily be fatal for some of us. Once we go in, there will be no going back."

One of the players near the back yelled out, "Unless we can run faster than them!"

Diabel chuckled as the players above him laughed, "Yes, unless you run away. Forgive me for thinking of this as all or nothing." He cleared his throat, "Now then. About the gear we'll be taking in." He gestured for me to come forward, "This is Krathys. If any of you have gear that you want upgraded before we go to battle tomorrow, take it to him, along with the materials he needs, and 10 col, and he'll upgrade whatever weapon or armor piece you want to the best of his abilities. If the upgrade fails, you get a full refund."

I waved to the crowd, "Yo. I'll be in the shop Blacksmith's Honor. If I'm not there, I'm probably out eating. You can either leave the item you want upgraded with a note and check back in an hour or so, or, if you don't trust people not to steal it, come back later when I might be there. Sound good?"

There were a few mutters in the crowd above me, and the sound of people swiping their menus to check for Col balances and materials. Diabel clapped his hands together, "We'll go over the plan tomorrow morning before we leave, and then once again before we take on the boss. Until then, this meeting is adjourned!"

People trickled out of the coliseum, and Diabel sighed, "That Kibaou guy had me nervous for a second." He muttered softly.

"He had you nervous?" I hissed, "I had a fight with Taylaria earlier, and she went right up to him! Imagine how I felt!"

Someone cleared their throat behind us, and we turned to see Kibaou standing a few feet behind us, just out of earshot of the hushed tones we had been using, looking sheepish with a hand rubbing the back of his head. He looked at Diabel apologetically, "Sorry for crashing the meeting like that. I thought that it was almost over."

Diabel raised a hand, "No need to apologize, it's fine."

Kibaou grinned slightly, "Do you mind if I join your party? I didn't have a chance to group up with anyone earlier."

The blue haired beta tester glanced at me, and I shrugged, "Sure, I'll invite him. See if he's got the skills to back up demanding that all beta testers hand over their weapons." I swiped at the party menu, sending him the invitation. Once he accepted, I punched in another command on my menu, "Actually, I'd rather see if he's got the skills to back up his boldness right now."

A new screen popped up in front of Kibaou, and he paled slightly as he realized that a level fifteen had just challenged him to a duel. He started to shake his head frantically, then hesitantly hit accept as everyone in our expanded party shot him a 'get on with it' glare. Once he selected the half-loss mode, the two of us took several steps back as the timer started to count down. Taylaria and Rathion sat down against the pillars, looking on wearily as Diabel and Agil stood to the side, watching with interest.

The timer hit zero, and Kibaou launched himself forward, shield up and sword gripped tightly as he ran at me. I waited until he was about to swing his sword, then spun to the side, lashing out with my own weapon. Kibaou shouted as it made contact with his shoulder, and I completed my spin, balancing lightly on the balls of my feet. His health was down a quarter, and a bright red line showed that I had nearly cut his arm off. The two of us closed again, and this time our blades collided in a flurry of sparks. I twisted as he thrust, parrying his blade with a desperate turn of my wrist before sliding my sword along his, shoving the weapon away from me.

Moving with my push, Kibaou spun, letting his momentum carry his shield arm out in an arc. His shield clipped my shoulder, and I grunted as my health dropped slightly. Letting his momentum continue to carry him, Kibaou made a horizontal slash that would have cut me cleanly in half. Instead of making deuces of me however, his sword clanged loudly as it collided with mine. With his shield arm still stretched off to the side, I moved in, elbowing him in the face before bringing my knee up into his groin. While not as effective as it would be next floor once I had the martial arts skill, it was still a boy's weak spot, and Kibaou dropped like a stone. I whirled my sword in a quick X across his chest as he fell, a pair of strikes almost like a surgery that dropped his health neatly into the yellow zone.

The duel screen reappeared, proclaiming me as the winner as his health hit yellow and I grinned, "You did better than I expected, though that isn't saying much. I'm sure that you'll be fine against the mobs that we'll find in the boss room, even the strongest monster on this floor isn't as deadly as a player. A word of advice though. When you're using a shield, and your opponent isn't, don't rush at them, play it defensively. Let them come to you, wear them out, and strike when they leave their guard down." I clapped his shoulder and helped him to his feet, "Don't take this personally dude, higher levels in this game are deadly. Plus, my gear is all upgraded, and quest issued. There's not a lot of chance that you would be beating me."

Diabel cleared his throat, "Speaking of upgraded gear, we told everyone that you would be at Blacksmith's honor, and you're still here while people might be waiting for you to upgrade their gear. Shouldn't you get going?"

I jumped and ran for the forge, "Right! On my way!"

If I had looked back, I might have seen the mixture of embarrassment and rage on Kibaou's face as I left.

()()()()

Crafting in SAO was, like everything else, very different from the real world. In the real world, you would have to get the metal, melt it down, and then fold and cool it to create something, and couldn't upgrade things. But in SAO, you simply needed the the proper materials - metal ingots, leather, thread, pretty basic stuff - and a hammer. Touching the material would start it off, and a series of targets would appear one at a time in different places on the item. The blacksmith would then have to hit the targets with the hammer before the target faded. Miss the target and you had to start over. Let one of the targets fade and you had to start over. Screw up three times, you failed, the item lost half durability and lost its most recent upgrade. Fail twice and the item breaks. The number of targets varied depending on which upgrade you were applying. For instance, a +1 upgrade would only have one target, while a +15 upgrade would have fifteen.

Once you got past twenty upgrades, NPC blacksmiths started to have trouble, since they relied on calculations and programs rather than actual reflexes and aim. Different variables like higher quality materials could make the upgrade easier, slow the targets down, for instance, or make them bigger. You could also simply apply more materials, but that method had a limit, and the higher the upgrade, the more difficult it became. Iron ingots could only make the targets slightly bigger, regardless of how many you applied. One mithril ingot, on the other hand, would not only increase the target size of a high level upgrade by 50%, but it would also double the time the target was available to strike. On the lower floors, Mithril or platinum was completely nonexistent, but would theoretically make it basically impossible to fail. This change in difficulty was known as a difficulty shift. The higher the shift percentage, the easier the upgrade became.

Hours after the meeting, I stepped back from the forge, wiping my brow before returning an «Iron Breasplate +4» to its owner. The player nodded gratefully and hurried out of the forge, letting me sit down and relax for the first time since the meeting. Players had been in and out all day, and the sun was starting to go down. I slumped into a chair that had been moved in while I was working, "Rathion? How many more?"

Rathion stuck his head in, "Just one left for now Krathys. Do you want me or Taylaria to get you something to eat?"

I chuckled, "Nah, I'm going to a restaurant myself after this one. Been in this overheated forge too long."

A new person stepped inside, a blue and white shirt under dark brown armor, and a dark blue sword in his hand, "I think I'm the last one for tonight. The rest of the raiding party is either eating, chatting, or doing some last minute grinding." The newcomer offered up his sword and pushed his black hair out of his eyes, "Can you upgrade this?"

I stood and stepped up to the anvil, taking the sword and tapping it with a finger. The stats screen popped up, «Anneal Blade +6». My eyes almost popped out of my head, and I looked up at the player, "Th-this is the-"

"Anneal Blade, yes. Got it from a quest." The black haired player ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath, "It has two more upgrades available, can you finish it off?"

My hand shook slightly, and I swallowed, "I . . . I can try."

Taking a deep breath, and grabbing a quick drink to calm my nerves, I set the blade on the anvil and picked my hammer up. The tool glowed as I brought it down on the sword, and a sharp bell-like note rang throughout the smithy. I repeated the motion six more times, and the sword glowed before settling back to its original state, this time showing a +7 next to the name. The stress was incredible, and I rolled back on my heels, "Do you have the materials for another upgrade? Some extra would be nice, increase the chances of success. This one almost fell through."

The player nodded, swiping at his menu and depositing a large stack of white ingots on the ground next to the anvil, "Will this do?"

Poking at the pile of ore, a confused look spread across my face, "What kind of material is this? Mithril? I can't appraise it."

A look of confusion spread across the player's face, "I don't think so. It was a drop from one of the prairie dungeon bosses, some old ore mine. I'm not sure what it was."

I looked at the «?» showing in place of the ingot's name, "Well, whatever. Can I keep this stuff? I'll return your ten col and upgrade whatever item you want upgraded for the next ten floors for free. I'll even add you to my friends list so you can find me." My menu was open, and I started to move to my friends list to add the player.

He nodded, "Sure, I can't use it. Name's Kirito."

My hand froze above the menu, and my eyes went wide. I looked up slowly, "K-Kirito? As in Lone Wolf Kirito?"

Kirito turned a bright red, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah . . . I guess clearing eight floors of Aincrad when most beta testers were stuck on the fourth floor or below gets some weird nicknames." He registered the meaning of what we had both just said, and his eyes narrowed slightly, "Wait, if you know that nickname, you were in the beta test. I don't recognize you though."

I grimaced and swiped at my menu, storing the pile of ore and dropping Kirito's ten Col onto the anvil, "You wouldn't, it isn't the one that I used in the beta test. But you might recognize my deeds. I was the only person who beat you to the boss on the first floor."

His eyes narrowed further. If he hadn't been on the other side of my anvil, I would have been able to shut him up before he spoke, but instead of jumping over it and slamming a hand over his mouth, I ran right into the very solid hunk of metal as he spoke, "Archangel?"

Gritting my teeth and rubbing my shin where it had rammed into the anvil as I'd tried to jump over it, I nodded, "That was my name, don't wear it out. Seriously, don't use it. I'm trying to kick the habit of letting people know I'm from the beta, but I can't seem to avoid telling other beta testers. I'm bad at keeping secrets like that."

He grabbed the sword from the anvil and pointed it at me, "You killed me! Eight times! And made a regular habit of assassinating other players when they had better gear than you so you could take it! You weren't much better than a thief!"

"That was the beta test." I shrugged, "Killing people there didn't kill them in the real world, and to be honest, I'm not altogether proud of my methods of getting gear. But I don't plan on repeating that here, now that it's a real kill. I'm not a murderer, just an opportunist. Besides, it's not like I went unscathed, I died a few times myself." He didn't move the sword, and I sighed, "Okay, fine. You put the sword away and don't tell people who I was and what I did, I'll do the free upgrades for the first _twenty_ floors, and I'll charge you half price for any upgrade through the rest of the game. If you find a blacksmith who charges less than what I charge, mention them to me, and I'll charge you half of _that_ price." His sword dipped slightly and I added a final little cherry, "And I'll give the same benefit to any person in your friend list. Do we have a deal?"

Kirito slowly lowered his weapon, "You're pretty desperate to keep that name hushed up."

I shrugged again, "What can I say? It's a recognizable name and I'd like to keep my head where it is? People know the name Archangel, it's the name I gave MMO Today during our interview. I also gave out the fact that I wasn't the nicest guy during the beta test. People wouldn't trust me." I glanced towards the door, on the other side of which Rathion would be sitting, waiting for me to finish up, "The members of my party don't know who I was, so please don't tell them. I'll let them know in my own time, but I don't want to be left alone because of a few-" Kirito raised an eyebrow and I amended the statement, "Okay, a _lot_ of jerk moves in the past. I don't think that I would be able to deal with not having someone with me, it feels . . . wrong."

Kirito stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to reconcile Krathys, who was currently begging him to keep a secret, with Archangel, who had been a cold hearted fighter who took by force rather than consider saying 'please.' Eventually, he sighed, "Fine, fine. I'll keep it hushed up for you. You should tell your friends though, secrets like that will ruin your party. That's why I fight solo."

A long sigh emptied my lungs, "Yeah yeah, I know. Now then, can I see that sword again?"

He returned the blade to me and I opened my menu again, selecting one of the ingots he'd just given me. The white material hit the table with a dull clank, and I raised my hammer, tapping the ingot once before bringing my tool down on the Anneal Blade, initiating the upgrade. For the first three strikes, it was fine. Then the targets began blinking up faster, only lasting for a second or so before vanishing. On the final strike, there was a dull clang as my hammer hit the very edge of the target, and the blade shone brightly, becoming a +8. I rocked back on my heels, dropping my hammer, "All done for you. Enjoy your sword and the massive, massive discount you now have for the entire game. I'm going to go eat now, so if you need armor upgraded, wait for me to finish my dinner."

As I stepped out of the forge, Rathion jumped up and followed as I strolled through town, looking for a restaurant, "Where'd Taylaria go?" I asked idly, hoping that our archer hadn't wandered off.

Rathion shrugged, "I dunno. She wandered off with that Kibaou guy, he offered to buy her dinner to make up for acting like a jerk earlier today." He looked up at me, "I don't like him."

I ruffled his hair, "I'm not altogether fond of him either kid. Let's find them before anything happens, eh?"

The boy nodded eagerly, "Right!"

()()()()

We found the pair less than an hour later, and I sat down next to Taylaria, "Well, I'm exhausted. Too many people wanted their gear upgraded." Rathion fell wearily into the seat next to Kibaou. Even though he hadn't been doing anything all day, his legs were so short that he'd had to practically jog to keep up with me.

Despite an initial shock at my appearance, Taylaria found her bearings quickly, "All done then? And don't act like you didn't make a mountain of Col."

I shrugged, "I never said I didn't. But yeah, finished maybe forty minutes ago, and went looking for dinner. Rathion mentioned something about Kibaou buying, so I figured we'd check it out."

Kibaou turned red, "I said I was gonna buy her dinner to apologize for saying she was a beta tester earlier. I didn't say anything about buying it for you!"

My eyebrows creased in a frown, "Yeah, see it's the bit about you being alone with a member of my party that concerns me. Especially after, like you said, you were a jerk, and I proceeded to beat your ass." I glanced at Taylaria, "How has your date been so far?"

Rathion leaned forward, "Yeah Taylaria! Tell us!"

Taylaria rolled her eyes, "It's not a date, it's an apology dinner." She gestured to the stack of plates on the table, "And even if he wanted to buy you two dinner, I'm not sure if he has any Col left over. I'm a hearty eater."

Kibaou snorted, "The NPC's have already cleared about half of the plates. Your girl has more than a 'hearty appetite.' I'm surprised she hasn't eaten her parents out of house and home in the real world."

Instead of responding with a whipping retort, Taylaria was silent, looking down and away. Rathion punched Kibaou hard under the boy's ribs, "What did you do?"

"Ow! I didn't say anythi-"

"He didn't _mean_ to say anything." Taylaria's gaze was still on the floor, and she seemed to be shrinking into herself.

I looked at her, then at the redhead sitting next to Rathion, "Can you come with me for a moment Kibaou?"

The boy frowned slightly, but accompanied me outside. I lead the way around the corner of the restaurant, then turned back to him when we were ensconced in the shadows of an alley with a look cold enough to freeze fire, "What did you ask her to dinner for?"

The boy made a 'tch' noise and looked at the night sky, "I already said why. I wanted to apologize fo-"

"You don't strike me as the apologetic type." My tone hadn't warmed any, "What did you really want her for?"

His head fell until he was staring back at me, "I wanted to know a few things about you. How you got so good at fighting for one thing. Our whole battle, the only time I touched you was when I clipped you with my shield. You got me down to half health before I could hit you twice. If that had been a real fight, I would have been dead. Even without using a sword skill you're as good a fighter as Diabel, and he's one of the best I've seen. But her lips seem sealed, so what's your secret?"

My head tilted slightly to the side, "What makes you think I have a secret? Maybe I'm just a good fighter. Or maybe you're just not as good as you thought you were." I mentally smacked myself. 'piss him off more, oh that's a brilliant idea. It isn't like you're going into a boss fight with him tomorrow.' I shook my head and sighed, "My 'secret' as you put it, is that I practiced sword fighting in real life. No particular style, but I did take a few Kendo and fencing lessons. I just sort of incorporate those forms into a personal fighting style. Happy?"

Kibaou snorted, "I want to duel you again sometime. Not now though, it's obvious enough that I'd lose. Sometime in the future, we'll fight, and then I'll be the one to win."

A sly smile slipped onto my face, and I stepped forward until I was toe to toe with him, "I look forward to that day. But I fear it will be a long, long time in coming. From the time the boss is dead tomorrow, until you get the guts to fight me, stay away from my party. And I don't want to see you until the raid party heads out tomorrow." I brushed past him and returned to the restaurant. Rathion had taken my spot next to Taylaria and was trying to talk to her when I walked up, sitting down across from him.

Taylaria barely glanced up when I joined them, "Jerk not coming back?"

I smiled slightly, "I rather doubt it." Glancing at the menu, I put on a casual tone as I asked, "Anything we should know?"

The archer shrugged slightly, such a small movement that I almost missed it, "Not here."

Standing, I offered her a hand, "Well, Rathion and I can order food to be delivered to our room at the inn. You can tell us there if you prefer."

She smiled softly, "Thanks Krathys."

I wasn't sure if she was thanking me for originally helping her in the forest, running Kibaou off, offering a friendly ear, or giving her an opportunity not to speak. But it sounded sincere, so I assumed 'all of the above.'

()()()()

When we found ourselves back at our inn half an hour later, Rathion was sprawled out on the floor, laying on his belly with his chin on his hands, elbows propping his head and hands up, and his ankles intertwined above him, his knees bent to lift his feet into the air. Taylaria was sitting on the windowsill, one knee pulled up to her chest, the other leg dangling outside the building as she looked out into the night. A soft sigh escaped me as I folded my legs into a lotus position and set my elbows on my knees, "So why did you storm out like that when Kibaou mentioned your parents? He didn't mean any harm, like you said. If you don't want to talk of course, we get it, you don't have to." It occurred to me that we should have given that opportunity to her before entering her room, so she could have just said goodnight and closed the door, but too late.

Taylaria looked at the ground, "I know he didn't mean it. But it still hurt."

I tilted my head, "Well, we're your friends. Talk to us, maybe we can help."

The archer fingered her bow as it lay against the wall next to her and snorted slightly, "Doubtful." She finally looked up at us, "But I guess it might be worth a shot."

Rathion's smile lit up the alley, "Great! It's sad when you're sad, because then I get sad too, and I don't like being sad because it means I'm not happy. And when I'm not happy, you and Krathys never seem to be happy either. So no one be sad, because then we all get sad, and then I get sadder!"

We looked blankly at him, and I shook my head, "I doubt I'll ever understand you Rath." I looked back at Taylaria, "Whenever you're ready. If you want to wait, I understand."

The girl shook her head, "No, I'd rather get this out of the way now." She rolled an arrow between her fingers for a moment, then started to speak, "When I was younger, around eight, I think, I had a big family. Two parents, a kid brother, grandparents on my mom's side who spoiled us rotten living ten minutes away. Starting June seventh, two thousand thirteen, everything changed. First my grandparents died, and then my mother went mad with grief. After all that, my brother and I were orphaned two years later when our father got mixed up with the wrong crowd, in the worst sense of the term."

She shook her head slightly, "I haven't had a real parent since I was eight years old. Foster parents try . . . sometimes, but its hard for them to really be the parents that a kid really wants them to be. I found that games offered a respite from the real world, if only for a little while. My brother usually played with me, but when Sword Art Online came out, our foster parents at the time could only afford one Nerve Gear. I got to play first, and I think we all know how that turned out." Her head fell back against the wall, "This sucks."

Understatement of the century, from where I was sitting.

We were speechless for a long time, unable to come up with anything to say. It occurred to me that Taylaria was stronger than I had ever given her credit for, holding up so much emotional weight from such a young age. I moved over to her, setting a hand on her shoulder, and she glanced at me, her eyes touched with a hint of sadness she would never let someone else see in its entirety. It was the sort of sadness that you could lock up in the deepest recesses of your mind, but could never truly shake off. She hadn't told us her story for pity, she'd told us because we wanted to understand, and because neither she nor I could say no to Rathion. Perhaps he reminded her of her younger brother, the same way he reminded me of Kayna.

I stood up, and Rathion did the same as I offered a hand to Taylaria. The girl looked up at me in surprise, and I smiled gently, "Maybe your family does have a run of bad luck, but I think you've blown the last of it coming to Sword Art Online. After all, your brother lucked out, didn't he? He isn't trapped in this death game with us. And he grew up with you as a sister, I think anyone would say they were lucky to be related to you."

Taylaria looked at the hand I was offering her, then accepted it, letting me pull her to her feet, "Thanks Krathys. That . . . actually does make me feel better."

A slight smile tugged at my mouth, "Now then, Rathion and I still haven't gotten anything to eat, care to join us for dinner? I promise to be much more interesting to talk to than that stupid Kibaou guy."

The three of us shared a laugh. A short one, sure, but it was a laugh. Maybe they were just laughing at my lame attempt to lighten the mood, but semantics. We made our way back through the streets of Origo, looking forward to the promise of a new day that would shine brighter than the ones we were walking away from.

**End of Chapter III**

**Hey-o awesome people!**

**I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of The Scarlet Angels! This chapter was about as long as I expected it to be, but I was expecting it to include the next day as well, Taylaria and Krathys' backstories became more in-depth than I'd thought. I hope you guys liked it!**

**Reviews make my fingers type faster, and school is about to start. I'm going to need these fingers to type faster if I want to keep updating once a week. So . . . please review! You get a virtual cookie if you do!**

**So, this story currently has no Beta Reader. If you would like to be a beta reader for this story, please send me a PM asap!**

**Sorefireice: You noticed that huh? I love Axel in Kingdom Hearts, and the 'got it memorized?' line is so very nice that I just had to use it. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story, and thank you for the kind review!**

**Agent94: Thanks for the constructive criticism! I've made edits to all of the chapters so far according to the helpful reviews you've given me, so I hope that they're better now than they were than when they were first posted!**

**AikenArrow: Here's the next chapter, I hope it meets expectations!**

**Everyone still reading this is awesome! Thank you all for your support!**

**Keep Writing, Keep Rocking!**

**Undeadmonkey8**


	5. Note of Hiatus

**Hi guys . . .**

**No chapter is gonna be found here, so sorry that I got all your hopes up. I'm going through some rough times in real life right now, so until further notice all of my stories are going on an extended hiatus. No, I don't know when it will end, no I don't want anyone leaving a review or replying or sending me a message after reading this chapter telling me to 'stay strong' or 'hope things get better.' I don't want anyone's sympathy, this is just to let you all know why you won't be seeing any updates from me for a while.**

**To all of you who thought that my work was worthy of following and reviewing, I'm truly sorry that I've let you guys down like this, but I just can't take the luxury of living in anywhere but the real world until I have all of this sorted out. You have all been truly great people, thank you for your support, and I'm sorry that I'm letting you all down.**

**Goodbye for now. I plan to come back sooner or later, just don't know when yet.**

**Undeadmonkey8**


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